A surprisingly perfect gift for your kids or grandkids.

It's NOT A TECH TOY, and it WILL LAST FOR YEARS: IT'S LIFE INSURANCE.

Think of all the special events in the lives of your children or grandchildren: birthdays, holidays, graduations, weddings—even celebrating the birth of a new little one. If you’re like some of us, you spend hours trying to think of the perfect gift for the occasion—something that will show your child or grandchild just how much they mean to you. Here’s a suggestion, and one you won’t find in any store: life insurance for children.

We know it may seem a little different in the gift department, but consider these reasons why life insurance can be just the right choice:

It can last a lifetime—and then some. Permanent life insurance provides death benefit protection, creates a living legacy that will accumulate cash value with each passing year, and may help your child or grandchild get a head start on their financial future.

It won’t wear out or fall apart. Provided you continue to pay the policy premiums, the life insurance policy you purchase for your kids or grandkids today can still be there years from now—something that material things don't offer.

It has accumulation potential. Most gifts lose value over time. A permanent life insurance policy, on the other hand, has the potential to accumulate cash value each year. Cash values can be borrowed for any purpose—to provide a down payment on a first home, to help pay for college, to start a business, or even to help fund a comfortable retirement down the road. Keep in mind: Loans against your policy will accrue interest and decrease the death benefit and cash value by the amount of the outstanding loan and interest, and withdrawals will reduce the available death benefit.

There are tax advantages.* Under current law, cash values that accumulate in a life insurance policy are tax deferred. Even when cash values are borrowed, there may be no tax consequences in many instances. Also, proceeds received by beneficiaries are generally not taxable as income. Talk with your tax advisor for more details.

Premium rates may never be lower. Premiums generally increase with age, but with permanent life insurance, it’s possible to lock in the premium at the insured person’s current age—for life.

This policy can help guarantee future insurability. Once the life insurance policy has been issued, coverage cannot be canceled as long as all required premiums are paid. Also, if a Policy Purchase Option (PPO) Rider** is included with the policy, the person insured has a right to increase coverage by purchasing a new policy at designated dates, regardless of insurability.

An additional important detail is that when the person insured is a minor, the life insurance policy is generally owned by the purchasing adult until the child reaches the age of majority as defined by state law. When the child reaches the age of majority, ownership of the policy can be transferred to the child.

We know that your kids and grandkids mean the world to you. If you have questions about buying life insurance for young people, a New York Life agent is always here to help. We’ll have one in your area contact you. Get started.

Talk it through with an expert.

Further Reading

TThere may be tax implications for policies recognized as modified endowment contracts (MEC), or if you partially surrender a policy in which the surrender exceeds the cost basis of the policy. Distributions including loans from a MEC are taxable to the extent of the gain in a policy and may also be subject to a 10% additional tax if the owner is under age 59½..

The new policy must have a face amount of at least $25,000, and the charges for the PPO Rider will vary based on the payer’s risk class and face amount.